Negotiating for a Win-Win

FountainBlue's August 1 Front Line Managers Online program was on the topic of 'Negotiating for a Win-Win', conducted both on-site and online at our Lam Research host location. Please join me in thanking our panelists. 

• as a Program Leader – Nancy Gilbert, Director of Program Management, Lam Research

• as a Product Leader - Ronald Goossens, Part-time Consultant at ASML and Adjunct Professor at Purdue

• as an Engineering Leader - Kavita Shah, Vice President, Process Technology, SunRise Memory Corp.

• with introduction by Wendy Wright, Project and Program Manager, Lam Research

We deeply appreciate your flexibility and support as we navigated our first on-site *and* online session since March 2020, with the emergence of the pandemic.

We were fortunate to have a diverse, passionate and experienced set of panelists representing a wide range of backgrounds and challenges. They were exceptional in the way they navigated complex challenges, communicated and connected with a wide range of stakeholders, and inspired, motivated and instructed us all to seek the negotiation win-win with perseverance, creativity, resourcefulness and grace. 

Below are some thoughts about negotiations:

• Negotiation is not just for those who are in business and sales, it's for everyone.

• Building strong relationships is foundational for successful negotiations. Plan to create a win-win negotiation so that you can further build on those relationships.

• There are many things to negotiate beyond money - there are resources, project participation, benefits, shift times, etc.,

Below is a compilation of their suggested best practices.

Be Strategic

• When possible, aim for a win-for-all where possible, working with trusted partners with shared interest, acting with integrity, demonstrating good will. 

• Align with the strategic direction of the organization, the values of the organization, the shared motivations of the stakeholders.

• Gain a wide breadth of knowledge and experience so that you are well informed and connected when participating in a negotiation. 

• Know the anchoring points for the negotiating parties and then find the joint road map based on those anchoring points.

• Be creative and resourceful with your negotiation strategy. For example, if you don't have the data, try extrapolating other data or using an inspirational story, or leveraging an executive contact. 

• Navigate the guardrails between what the science will allow and what the business can resource/support as you negotiate.

• Understand and work within the risk appetite for your organization, especially as you work on cutting edge/bleeding edge projects.

• If the negotiated result is failing, fail fast and learn from it and proactively communicate the shifts and the learnings.

Leverage Your Network

• Create and build a broad and deep network of relationships, an ecosystem of trusted stakeholders and continue to collaborate, delivering win-win results for all parties.

• Share your negotiation successes and learnings with your network as they may set you up for the next successful negotiation.

• Know when to escalate, leveraging your network, talking to stakeholders who are not currently at the table to break a logjam for example.

Know Your Stakeholders

• Know the assumptions and motivations of the stakeholders.

• Build in optionality in your proposals, with an eye on the motivations of your various stakeholders.

• Listen attentively to what's said and what's not said, but what's meant. 

• Ask questions out of curiosity and make sure that everyone feels heard.

Plan and Manage the Negotiations Well

• Focus on getting the metrics, but avoid analysis paralysis, where you're waiting for too much data to proceed and delay making an agreement or decision. 

• Know your walking point, your non-negotiables - the point where you decide for specific reasons *not* to continue with a negotiation. With that said, make efforts to maintain the relationships.

The greatest learning for me was that negotiation is more an interactive, multi-dimensional give and take, a respectful exchange of ideas and strategies rather than a simple one-dimensional formula. 

The best negotiators, like the ones on our panel, are people who are experienced, have high-integrity, and are strategists and problem-solvers who are invested in the success of all stakeholders involved. 

We are grateful that they shared their wisdom with us for this program.